Book Review

PCs for Dummies
reviewed by Rick Fischer

"This book talks about using a computer in friendly, human - and often irreverent - terms. Nothing is sacred here. Electronics can be praised by others. This book focuses on you and your needs. In this book, you'll discover everything you need to know about your computer without painful jargon or the prerequisite master's degree in engineering. And, you'll have fun."
That's quite a promise. I think it delivers nicely.
Although this book is written for people new to computing, I found things I'd call "gaps" in my education. For example, I found my UPS and power strip were set up almost exactly as recommended in the book. After reading this section I made an adjustment. The diagram was clear. And, we get reasons for doing things.
A funny thing happened on the way to finding gaps. I found myself reading the book from front to back looking for things I probably once knew but had forgotten. The more I read the more I realized there were lots of gaps.
The topics are many and wide-ranging. We go as far as Windows 98 on the operating system side and we cover all the common "innards." Gookin uses words like that, but I haven't found "innards" yet. He compares the motherboard to a shopping mall. The metaphor seems to work.
I like the fact that Gookin gives us a "cheat sheet" for our systems: make and model, microprocessor, RAM, what's on com1, com2, etc. I've always done that and I find it worth doing. I've never before seen that in a book. Now, where do you get the answers to fill in the blanks? I suppose you find them throughout, but it would be helpful to the newcomer to cover where to get the answers on the next page. Scavenger hunts don't thrill me.
The chapter on memory covers the hierarchy of the byte: kilo, mega, giga and tera. I was hoping to find it in here somewhere.
The chapter on keyboards covers the "any key." Go ahead and laugh. Remember who this book is written for. And, didn't anyone ever tell you not to assume?
Here's a Weakest Link question. Name a key on your keyboard that does absolutely nothing in Windows. Answer(s): Pause, SysRq, and Break.
I really like Gookin's advice about upgrading Windows (recall T.R.'s recent article about upgrading to Windows Me). He says: Don't. "Just wait until you buy a new computer, and the PC will have the newest version of Windows, all preinstalled and set up nicely."
There are 34 chapters all written with the new user in mind. It's stuff we all need to know - told in a simple non-technical language.
I am going to give my copy to my brother - not because he's a Dummie, but because he wants to learn about computers.

PCs for Dummies, 7th ed. by Dan Gookin. 1999. Foster City, CA: IDG Books. $22.